The use of high-power fiber lasers is increasing in popularity for a variety of applications such as material processing, cutting, welding and/or additive manufacturing. Optical power can be delivered from the laser source to an application system configured to transmit the optical power to a workpiece. In a typical fiber laser setup, pump light is launched into a fiber and emitted from a terminating end of the fiber onto a workpiece. Optical power can be coupled from an output fiber at the laser source to an input fiber on the application system. For many applications, it is convenient to have a fiber connector to enable a non-permanent connection between terminating ends of coupled fibers. Fiber connectors are typically designed to precisely align coupled fibers minimizing power losses and facilitating multiple connection/disconnection cycles.
A fiber connector is typically designed to dissipate uncontrolled or unguided optical power at or near the terminating ends of the coupled fibers. Some uncontrolled optical power may enter the cladding of the fiber. Existing connectors strip the power or attempt to retain it in the cladding of the fiber. Stripping optical power can be achieved by a variety of methods such as by using a polymer outer cladding, adding a grating to a cladding layer in the fiber, bending or tapering the fiber, use of a fiber Bragg grating and etc. Removal of unwanted light generates heat in the connector that should be dissipated. Stripping the back-reflected power is limited by the capability of the connector to dissipate the resultant heat. The fiber connector should be configured to efficiently dissipate uncontrolled power.